Semiconductor devices are processed through various steps such as etching, film formation, ashing and sputtering, and these steps are executed by employing various types of semiconductor processing apparatuses. In this type of semiconductor processing application, a so-called cluster multi-chamber processing apparatus is widely utilized in the related art so that a plurality of types of processing can be executed in single apparatus. Such a processing apparatus having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers connected to a common transfer chamber so as to allow a substrate being processed, i.e., a semiconductor wafer, to be carried into/out of a loading/unloading chamber connected to the transfer chamber via an auxiliary vacuum chamber achieving a load lock function is ideal for achieving higher integration in the semiconductor device and a higher throughput and effectively prevents contamination of the workpiece.
If a failure occurs in this type of processing apparatus (hereafter it may also be referred to simply as a processing apparatus) capable of performing various types of processing, the processing apparatus must be stopped over an extended period of time for repairs, which results in a lower throughput. In order to improve the yield of semiconductors being processed and sustain a specific level of throughput by preventing failures of the processing apparatus, it is essential to perform proper maintenance of the parts constituting the processing apparatus. In the related art, various operations of the processing apparatus, which constitute the items to be checked for maintenance, are tested and processing apparatus inspection data are collected in conformance to a program prepared in advance.
However, whenever the contents of a processing apparatus operation test or details regarding the acquisition of the processing apparatus inspection data change, then the program needs to be modified or either the test or the acquisition of the inspection data on the relevant item needs to be conducted through a manual operation. Such a process is bound to be extremely complicated and time-consuming with a significant number of procedural steps to be followed. While Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 4-364752 discloses a semiconductor substrate processing system which allows the order in which semiconductor wafers are transferred to be set freely, it is desirable to allow processing apparatus operations other than the semiconductor wafer transfer to be set freely as well.
A first object of the present invention, which has been completed by addressing the problems discussed above, is to provide a method of maintaining a processing apparatus capable of executing processing apparatus operations in any combination.
In addition, since the processing apparatus described above is normally operated under critical conditions and the yield of finished products can be readily lowered by a slight abnormality or a minor incidence of contamination, it must be inspected and maintained on a regular basis. The regular inspection and maintenance work is implemented, for instance, once a day on a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus and, and accordingly, it is desirable to automate the regular inspection process and in order to carry out the processes with higher reliability and higher efficiency.
The inspection items to be checked during an inspection include those that cannot be checked while the processing apparatus is engaged in operation and thus, need to be checked by stopping the processing apparatus. Accordingly, each time inspection/maintenance work is implemented, the operator needs to verify the operating state of the processing apparatus, and if the processing apparatus is currently engaged in operation, the operator must wait for the processing apparatus to enter a stopped state or, if necessary, forcibly stop the processing apparatus. In addition, the inspection items also include those that can be checked only by first processing a dummy wafer or the like and then collecting the dummy wafer for measurement, such as particle measurement and film thickness measurement. For these reasons, it is difficult to conduct regular inspection and reset the processing apparatus after the maintenance work completely automatically, and the operator must verify the operating state of the processing apparatus each time inspection or maintenance is to be conducted and perform work manually.
In addition, as increasingly larger wafer and glass substrates are processed, the processing apparatus itself has become larger in recent years, necessitating a greater number of operators to manually perform the inspection and maintenance work and a greater number of works steps to be taken in such manual inspection and maintenance. Since this poses a greater risk of contamination of the clean space, automation of the inspection and maintenance processes has become an even more critical technological objective to be fulfilled.
A second object of the present invention, which has been completed by addressing the problems discussed above, is to provide a new and improved method of automatically inspecting a processing apparatus and a new and improved method of automatically resetting the processing apparatus, through which the operating efficiency of the processing apparatus is improved by automatically inspecting the processing apparatus and automatically resetting the processing apparatus after the maintenance work.
Furthermore, the processing apparatus described above is normally driven by software. However, the operating state of the software driving the processing apparatus is not monitored in the related art. As a result, the processing apparatus is allowed to continue operating until a fatal abnormality occurs in the processing apparatus. Once a failure occurs in this type of apparatus the processing apparatus must be stopped over an extended period of time for repairs to result in lowered throughput. Moreover, the occurrence of an abnormality in the processing apparatus gives rise to another problem in that such an abnormality may result in damaged wafer product.
A third object of the present invention, which has been completed by addressing the problems discussed above, is to provide a method of self-diagnosing software used to drive a processing apparatus, that makes it possible to avert the occurrence of an abnormality in the processing apparatus and prevent damage to the workpiece.